Reflection WEEK 1

My first week in TRANSLATING OBSERVATIONS was interesting! I didn’t really know what to expect other than my last studio (Screen & Sensation), but Robin’s relaxed approach was encouraging, as was other student’s (who had been in his classes in previous semesters) commenting on their enjoyment of his teaching style as a reason they chose this studio. I am looking forward to some freedom of expression in this class, as to not be tied down by certain parameters and prompts in our work.

Last semester, during Screen & Sensation, my final piece was a short piece of ‘mumblecore’ film-making. It was a short narrative piece revolving around a protagonist meeting someone new, then going home to his share house to his roommates. Very little occurred in a dramatic sense, but instead the focus of the piece was on having the interactions between characters being as realistic as possible. While this was achieved to varying levels of success, I was satisfied with the experience as it opened the door to a style of filmmaking I could get really engaged in. So as Robin talked about the sweet spot between documentary and drama, this rung true to me. I am excited to see how I can use my past experience focusing on these things this semester. While experimenting and preparing for my final piece, I did a lot of observation of the world, focusing on the mundane and attempting to ‘notice’ things more actively. This definitely seems to be an over-arching focus of this subject also so that’s exciting for me.

In our first class we also had a look at the Sony EX3 cameras, which were far more advanced than the ones I had used in the past. Getting them out and filming something first up was a great experience as I got comfortable using a more professional bit of gear. I’m looking forward to getting to know these cameras inside out by the end of the semester, and hopefully creating some great pieces of short cinema.